It will have been 18 months since we last saw Tyron Woodley compete inside the Octagon when he takes on Robbie Lawler for the welterweight title this Saturday night at UFC 201.
But that doesn’t mean Woodley has been sitting by and letting the game pass him by.
“I don’t believe in ring rust,” said Woodley, during an appearance on UFC Tonight recently. “That’s if I was being rusty, not watching fights, not training, not staying in shape and not staying positive. You can’t charge that to my charge card. I’ve had a training camp.
“I’ve been working and training. I’ve been out of site and out of mind. I’ve got some things I’ve been working on.”
Woodley (15-3) scored his second straight win and fourth in his last five fights when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum last January. He’s also topped Dong Hyun Kim, Carlos Condit and Josh Koscheck around a decision loss to Rory MacDonald.
As for his opponent, Lawler is one of the hottest fighters in MMA. “Ruthless” has bested Condit, MacDonald and Johny Hendricks in recent memory.
“He might be red hot, but I’m ice cold. I’m a better fighter, better grappler, better wrestler, I’m a cleaner striker, I’m faster, I’m just as strong and I have just as much power,” he said. “If you think of skill sets, they are skills. Toughness isn’t a skill set. I have the toughness, the heart, a better skill set and in my mind, I’m a better fighter.”
It will have been 18 months since we last saw Tyron Woodley compete inside the Octagon when he takes on Robbie Lawler for the welterweight title this Saturday night at UFC 201.
But that doesn’t mean Woodley has been sitting by and letting the game pass him by.
“I don’t believe in ring rust,” said Woodley, during an appearance on UFC Tonight recently. “That’s if I was being rusty, not watching fights, not training, not staying in shape and not staying positive. You can’t charge that to my charge card. I’ve had a training camp.
“I’ve been working and training. I’ve been out of site and out of mind. I’ve got some things I’ve been working on.”
Woodley (15-3) scored his second straight win and fourth in his last five fights when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum last January. He’s also topped Dong Hyun Kim, Carlos Condit and Josh Koscheck around a decision loss to Rory MacDonald.
As for his opponent, Lawler is one of the hottest fighters in MMA. “Ruthless” has bested Condit, MacDonald and Johny Hendricks in recent memory.
“He might be red hot, but I’m ice cold. I’m a better fighter, better grappler, better wrestler, I’m a cleaner striker, I’m faster, I’m just as strong and I have just as much power,” he said. “If you think of skill sets, they are skills. Toughness isn’t a skill set. I have the toughness, the heart, a better skill set and in my mind, I’m a better fighter.”
Tyron Woodley may be the most dangerous kind of opponent for Robbie Lawler right now—under-hyped and overqualified.
When the two occasional teammates at American Top Team meet at Saturday’s UFC 201, Lawler will likely be going off as someth…
TyronWoodley may be the most dangerous kind of opponent for Robbie Lawler right now—under-hyped and overqualified.
When the two occasional teammates at American Top Team meet at Saturday’s UFC 201, Lawler will likely be going off as something like a 2-to-1 favorite, according to Odds Shark.
Woodley is a worthwhile and even a dangerous opponent for the welterweight champion. However, this fight is popularly viewed as one Lawler just needs to get through to bring on the match-up most fans actually want see against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson sometime later this year.
In that way, Woodley conjures images of a couple of other underdogs who’ve challenged for UFC titles lately—Michael Bisping and Amanda Nunes.
Bisping came into his fight against Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 as a late injury replacement for Chris Weidman. It was considered a feel-good story for the longtime UFC vet to finally get a shot at the gold, but nobody gave Bisping a chance to win.
We all thought it would be a harmless detour in the middleweight title race. Rockhold would easily beat Bisping—just as he did in November 2014—and then get back to regular business against Weidman, JacareSouza or another top contender.
But then Bisping knocked Rockhold out in the first round. Now, Marcelo Barone and Marcelo Russio of the Brazilian media outlet Combatereports he’s headed for an off-the-grid matchup with Dan Henderson, via Bloody Elbow’s Lucas Rezende.
So, yeah, nobody saw that plot twist coming.
Leading up to Nunes’ women’s bantamweight championship win at UFC 200, the story was much the same.
When the UFC shuffled the pay-per-view card to put Miesha Tate’s title defense against Nunes on top, we assumed larger forces were at work. The UFC would cap its biggest night of the year with Tate beating Nunes and then challenging a returning Ronda Rousey inside the cage as the PPV went off the air.
It seemed simple and elegant—a perfect setup for a big-money third fight between Tate and Rousey.
Then Nunes choked her out in the first round.
Plans, meet sledgehammer.
Now comes Woodley, who is largely seen as a speed bump between Lawler and the fast-rising Thompson.
We’re all hyped about a potential meeting between Wonderboy’s exciting karate-based style and Lawler’s straightforward brawl-for-all. There’s just no way putting those two high-energy strikers together fails to produce a crowd-pleasing slugfest. Maybe even a potential fight of the year candidate.
That means Lawler just has to get through this fight against Woodley, and we all get what we want—though, obviously that’s been a deadly place for UFC champions to find themselves for the last few months.
Just don’t tell that to Lawler, who naturally insists it doesn’t matter who he fights.
“I’m not too worried about who is coming after me, everyone is coming after me,” Lawler said during a recent episode of UFC Countdown.
When you’re the champion, everyone wants what you have, everyone tries to throw their name in the hat. But what I concentrate on is getting better every day. I always look at myself as the underdog with something to prove. That’s why I continue to get better.
It’s not like Woodley shapes up as an easy opponent, however.
Despite the odds, he comes into this fight possessing of a skill set that could make things interesting for Lawler. Woodley is one of the welterweight division’s most accomplished wrestlers, a style that could come in handy in a five-round fight against a champion who has made a habit of winning close decisions.
Also, Woodley has knockout power in his hands, as evidenced by his TKO wins over Dong Hyun Kim, Josh Koscheck and Jay Hieron during his UFC career. Additionally, he defeated fellow top contender Carlos Condit via TKO in March 2014, though that victory came after Condit suffered a knee injury in the cage.
If you’re a Lawler fan, then Woodley’s well-rounded abilities might make you nervous, especially considering the following statistical analysis from MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn:
Lawler has absorbed 691 significant strikes in UFC competition since Jan. 1, 2013, the most of any fighter in the company since that date.
Lawler’s 531 significant strikes absorbed in UFC championship fights are the most in history.
Lawler absorbs 5.5 significant strikes per minute in UFC championship fights, the second most in history among fighters with at least three title bouts behind Frank Mir (6.3).
As noted on social media this week, it’s possible all that punishment won’t be great for Lawler’s longevity:
Another thing that could make this a sneaky trap fight for Lawler is that Woodley comes in at perhaps one of the lowest profile moments of his UFC career. The former University of Missouri wrestler has spent close to 18 months out of action due to injury and other factors.
Woodleybroke his foot in four places during his win over Kelvin Gastelum in January 2015, and it caused him to miss most of the rest of the year. In October 2015, he was scheduled to meet former champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 192, but the bout had to be scratched just one day before the event when Hendricks couldn’t make weight.
The time off hurt his Q-factor, but the patience paid off after Lawler battled through hard-fought meetings with Rory MacDonald and Condit. At first, a rematch with Condit was thought to be in the works, but the company eventually settled on the fourth-ranked Woodley, though the methodology used to make the choice remains as murky as ever.
(Woodley is currently ranked behind Thompson, MacDonald and Demian Maia on the official UFC contenders list, just in case you’re keeping score.)
He insists he’s more than ready for this chance and that the time he’s spent away from the cage will ultimately be helpful. After conversations with men’s bantamweight champion—and colleague at Fox Sports—Dominick Cruz, Woodley told CBS Sports’ Robby Kalland that he doesn’t believe in ring rust:
What you do [during] your time off determines how you’re going to look when you come in there. If you sit around feeling sorry for yourself, eating burgers and ice cream and cheese all day, you might go out there and be a little flat. But as we saw [Cruz] come back from a year layoff, he looked fresh, he looked good.
When Cruz returned after so much time away, he took the 135-pound title from T.J. Dillashaw in a command performance in January 2016.
If Woodley can match that perfect outing, he has a good chance to walk out of UFC 201 as champion.
And then the upset train will just continue to roll.
When “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler competes, there’s a good chance he’s winning Fight of the Night.
The reigning welterweight champion has taken Fight of the Night honors in four of his last six bouts, with the last two coming in ultra-violent title d…
When “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler competes, there’s a good chance he’s winning Fight of the Night.
The reigning welterweight champion has taken Fight of the Night honors in four of his last six bouts, with the last two coming in ultra-violent title defenses.
In short, he’s the most exciting champion in the UFC right now, and at UFC 201 on Saturday, he’ll take on another dangerous opponent who will try to put him away.
Tyron Woodley has been away from UFC action for more than a year-and-a-half. However, his return fight will afford him the chance to walk away as the champion.
That’s proved rather difficult for challengers to Ruthless in the past. Here’s a look at how the two men match up, along with the latest odds from Odds Shark.
How Tyron Woodley Got Here
Woodley is the classic wrestler who can also take an opponent’s head off with his power. Much like Johny Hendricks, he wrestled at the collegiate level before diving into MMA.
The result is a fighter who has five knockouts, five submission victories and five wins via decision.
At his best, Woodley is a powerful striker who can catch opponents with a big shot and then follow up with a takedown and work his ground-and-pound. Fans saw him do all of that within one round against Josh Koscheck before blasting him with a brutal overhand right while Koscheck was attempting to close the distance.
Woodley’s ability to blitz opponents with aggressive salvos and dart back out of harm’s way has also led to knockouts of Dong Hyun Kim and Carlos Condit in recent years.
However, Woodley can be inconsistent. UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson broke down the dichotomy of the “two Woodleys” who can show up to a fight, per Ryan Gerbosi of Newsday:
“There are two different types of Tyron that show up. Sometimes you get the one that knocks a guy out in the first round. He’s very explosive right off the bat and he’s out for the kill,” Thompson said. “But you also get the guy who sometimes shows up, like when you saw him fight Kelvin Gastelum, he was kind of a little hesitant, wasn’t really too sure or confident in his blitzing. He wasn’t the Tyron that most people like to see, the one who goes out there and just knocks the guy out.”
“Hesitant” Woodley can win, but it’s not pretty or championship-level. In his last time out in January 2015, he eked out a spit decision against Kelvin Gastelum, landing only 27 strikes over the course of the three-round fight.
He’ll need to do better against Lawler.
How Robbie Lawler Got Here
The story of Lawler is well-known by now. He made his UFC debut 14 years ago in 2002 and eventually fought in Pride, EliteXC and Strikeforce with mixed results before returning to the UFC.
Lawler came back to the UFC fresh off a 3-5 run at Strikeforce. He was written off as a journeyman retread before embarking on the best run of his career. Since coming back, he’s 8-1 in the Octagon, and he avenged his only loss by beating Hendricks to win the title.
The champ has returned to the UFC as toughness personified. The refined version of his game still has him absorbing punishment, but he’s also able to return fire with crushing power. In his short title reign, he’s already given fans three fights that will be hard to forget.
Just look at the significant strike numbers from his reign:
His opponents out-landed him in two of those three fights, yet he found ways to win.
In becoming the champion, he’s mastered the art of grit, walking through punishment to keep the pressure on opponents. He keeps swinging until they aren’t in front of him anymore or he’s earned the judges’ approval.
Whether he can continue to take on punishment will be the story in this fight.
Prediction
This fight has intrigue everywhere. It’s defined by questions we won’t have the answers to until the fight unfolds.
Can Lawler continue to take upwards of 100 strikes in fights and still win? Will the 18-month layoff impact Woodley?
Lawler’s defense is historically bad. As Reed Kuhn of Fightnomics notes, few active fighters have been hit by distance strikes to the head more than Lawler has:
Another interesting angle to watch is how the fight goes in the later rounds. With a ton of muscle and a reliance on quick movements, Woodley has been known to fade late in fights. Meanwhile, Lawler appears to be a cyborg who uses the damage he absorbs to become stronger and redistribute that pain right back to his opponents.
That has to be a concern for Woodley, who said he feels comfortable brawling with the champion, per Elias Cepeda of Fox Sports: “I can take it to the ground and grapple, I can wrestle, I can obviously strike with creative strikes and get there really quickly, but in addition to that, I just feel I can brawl and bang as well so there’s multiple different ways I feel comfortable winning the fight.”
That’s a dangerous game to sign up for. Lawler drew Rory MacDonald, Hendricks and Condit into brawls, and all three lost to the champ.
It wouldn’t be altogether shocking to see Woodley come out aggressively and win the fight in the first round. The cumulative damage done to Lawler over the years could finally take its toll.
However, it’s more likely that Lawler takes over the fight in the later rounds after Woodley has some success in Rounds 1 and 2, so that’s the prediction.
On Tuesday afternoon, UFC released the second installment of their “UFC 201 Embedded” web-series.
Featured above is the complete second episode of UFC 201 Embedded, which gives fans an all-access, behind-the-scenes lo…
https://youtu.be/NRm2qNKj1UU
On Tuesday afternoon, UFC released the second installment of their “UFC 201 Embedded” web-series.
Featured above is the complete second episode of UFC 201 Embedded, which gives fans an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at the top fighters scheduled for Saturday’s pay-per-view as they finish up their final preparations for their fights.
The official description for UFC 201 Embedded episode two reads as follows:
“On Episode 2 of UFC 201 Embedded, strawweight Rose Namajunas feels emotionally and physically primed for her upcoming bout, as her opponent Karolina Kowalkiewicz settles in Atlanta and takes a mental break. Welterweight opponents Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger juggle family and training in their respective hometowns of Denver, Colorado and Irvine, California. UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler goes fishing with his family in Florida, and title challenger Tyron Woodley gets a haircut in peace, knowing that his house is safe from eight-legged invaders. UFC 201 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the world welterweight championship at UFC 201, taking place Saturday, July 30 on Pay-Per-View.”
For those who missed UFC 201 Embedded episode one, you can watch the complete episode by clicking here.
Headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship, UFC 201 is scheduled to take place this Saturday, July 30th, from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Join us here at MMANews.com this Saturday for live coverage of the UFC 201 PPV!
Few fighters embody their nickname better than reigning UFC welterweight champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler. Lawler has time and time again proved his warrior spirit inside of the Octagon, fighting with a relentless and ruthless style and backing down from no man. Because of his that style, Lawler has become a fan favorite and will defend his
Few fighters embody their nickname better than reigning UFC welterweight champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler. Lawler has time and time again proved his warrior spirit inside of the Octagon, fighting with a relentless and ruthless style and backing down from no man.
Because of his that style, Lawler has become a fan favorite and will defend his crown once again this upcoming weekend (Sat., July 30, 2016) in the main event of UFC 201 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from Atlanta, Georgia.
Looking to make the third defense of his 170-pound strap, the “Ruthless” one will take on No. 4-ranked Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley. Woodley, a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, possesses a unique combination of speed and explosive power, and he should provide the champion with a solid test.
As the fight nears closer, it’s an interesting time to look back on the legendary career of Robbie Lawler. Lawler’s career has seen hardships as well as triumph, but he’s always brought it on fight night, and because of that, he’s compiled his fair share of brutal victories.
Let’s take a look back on just eight times that Lawler absolutely destroyed his opponent:
On Monday evening, UFC released the first installment of their “UFC 201 Embedded” web-series.
Featured above is the complete first episode of UFC 201 Embedded, which gives fans an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at…
https://youtu.be/VmH3Qg1k8w4
On Monday evening, UFC released the first installment of their “UFC 201 Embedded” web-series.
Featured above is the complete first episode of UFC 201 Embedded, which gives fans an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at the top fighters scheduled for Saturday’s pay-per-view as they finish up their final preparations for their fights.
The official description for UFC 201 Embedded episode one reads as follows:
“On Episode 1 of UFC 201 Embedded, UFC strawweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz takes her dog to a final training session, then runs through a video game version of her upcoming bout against Rose Namajunas. In real life, “Thug” Rose hikes with her own canine training partner in the Colorado Rockies and goes for sushi. UFC welterweight Tyron Woodley spends an afternoon at home with his family in Missouri, and welterweight champion Robbie Lawler takes in a baseball game before getting back to work in the gym. UFC 201 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the world welterweight championship at UFC 201, taking place Saturday, July 30 on Pay-Per-View.”
Headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship, UFC 201 is scheduled to take place this Saturday, July 30th, from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Join us here at MMANews.com this Saturday for live coverage of the UFC 201 PPV!
